


Lazarus is Overrated

by CasualOtaku



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Animated Series, Klarion (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, JayTim Week, JayTimWeek2021, Lazarus Pit (DCU), M/M, Magic, Resurrection, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 01:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30131973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CasualOtaku/pseuds/CasualOtaku
Summary: Jason's worst nightmare has come to pass.  Now he has a decision to make.  Risk the Pit or his lover's wrath if he actually uses it.Written for JayTimWeek 2021.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Comments: 10
Kudos: 97
Collections: JayTim Week 2021





	Lazarus is Overrated

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to [Rei Fukai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vox_Populi/pseuds/Vox_Populi) for being my beta.
> 
> This was written in one mad dash to the finish line for the DAY FIVE prompt LAZARUS PIT OR MYTHS AND LEGENDS.

The Lazarus Pit.

Jason had a love/hate relationship with the Lazarus Pit. 

On the one hand, the Pit was the only reason he was running around as the Red Hood instead of a semi-catatonic walking zombie. But on the other, it left an already volatile man even more prone to fits of rage. Those lurid green waters had healed all his physical scars, but it had left an ocean of mental ones in its wake.

He always told himself he’d never wish the Pit on anyone else. 

So why was he here? Standing at the edge of a glowing green pool, contemplating doing just that?   
  
Batman would be furious. Dick would be furious. Hell, even the demon brat might be furious.   
  
He didn’t care about any of their opinions. The only one that mattered was the one that couldn’t answer.    
  
Jason looked down at the man in his arms. Even in death Tim was beautiful. His pale skin had gone alabaster instead of gray, making his elegant features seem almost ethereal. Combined with his black hair and blood-stained lips he could have passed for a gender bent Snow White.

_ /If only it was as  _ _ simple  _ _ as waking you with a kiss, baby bird./ _   
  
It was strange to think that just a few years ago his entire goal was to make Tim dead. Now however, now he was actually considering ripping him back from the jaws of death. Even if he knew from experience that it would hurt his beloved in more ways than one.   
  
The alternative...living gods knew how long without him was simply unbearable. But what good would it be to bring Tim back if he ended up hating him for doing so? Then again, this was Tim. Tim ,  who forgave him for literally trying to kill him multiple times. Tim who kept walking through the flames to extend a hand and pull him back from the edge. Didn’t he owe it to Tim to be willing to do the same?   
  
_ But what if this creates an Evil Tim? It’s happened before. They’ve come from the future more than once just to flaunt it. _   
  
Jason teared up and pulled Tim closer. “Oh god, baby bird. I don’t know what to do. Why can’t you be here to tell me what to do?”   
  
“Well definitely don’t go dropping him in the pit you idiot.”   
  
Jason jumped and spun around, trying to shift his grip enough to not drop his precious burden while reaching for a weapon.   
  
“Oh please...like a gun would do anything to me.” his visitor said.   
  
“Klarion.” Jason muttered. “What are you doing here?”   
  
“Keeping you from being an idiot.” Klarion said. “Did it never occur to you that there’s a reason that husk you’re carrying about hasn’t begun to rot?”   
  
“Don’t call him a husk!” Jason seethed, still aiming his pistol at the Witch Boy.   
  
“But that’s what it is...a husk. If you toss him into that Pit you’ll undo all my hard work to keep his soul sheltered until I could fix his body.” Klarion said before pouting. “It was really mean of you to steal it by the way. I had this entire grand entrance prepared and it was utterly wasted on that boring old man you call a father.”   
  
“What?” Jason asked as he slowly lowered his gun.   
  
“I said you made me waste my grand entrance on the Bat-jerk. He didn’t even gasp in awe. I even made fairy lights!”   
  
“Not that! I don’t give a shit about B. What was that about keeping Tim’s soul sheltered?” Jason growled.   
  
“Oh, yes. Well Teekl here is fond of the little bird so I planted a little spell to let me know if his soul ever left his body via unnatural means.” Klarion explained. “I can’t do much about a natural death, but mystically severing a soul is something else entirely. It was really stupid of you to go up against someone with the Tablet Of Augehael by the way. Luckily for you I wanted it in my collection so--”   
  
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Jason interrupted. “You’re talking like you can bring Tim back. Is that right?”   
  
Klarion huffed and crossed his arms. “You’re such a boorish brute. I don’t know  _ what _ he sees in you.”   
  
“Neither do I, but I ain’t giving it up.” Jason drawled. “Now can you help or not?”   
  
Klarion huffed and snapped his fingers.   
  
Jason stumbled as they were suddenly transported to what he could only assume was an alchemical lab of some sort. That , or Klarion had a thing for cauldrons and glowies.   
  
“Put the body in that tank.” Klarion said, pointing to a large crystal tank covered in archaic runes. A viscous blue liquid bubbled away inside it, giving off an intensely herbaceous stench that made Jason’s eyes water as he approached.   
  
“You sure this is any better than the Pit?” Jason asked. “It reeks.”   
  
“Considering the Lazarus Pits come with a healthy dose of insanity, yes.” Klarion said before he approached with a ridiculously large ruby with a black metal dragon wrapped around it. The gem seemed to glow with inner light as Klarion held it aloft. “Behold! Tim’s phylactery.”   
  
Jason stared at the gem and felt himself pulled towards it by some deep seated instinct. His lips parted slightly as he reached for it. “Tim?”   
  
Klarion’s eyes widened slightly, before he smirked. “I suppose he didn’t choose so badly after all. You’re tethered.”   
  
“What?” Jason asked as the spell dissipated.   
  
Klarion waved the question away. “Tank first.”   
  
Jason looked back at the tank. What did he have to lose? Technically Klarion was right. What he had over his shoulder was just a corpse. Tim himself wasn’t in there. So he took a deep breath and held it as he moved over to the tank and slowly lowered Tim’s body into the ichor, praying he wasn’t making a mistake.   
  
Tim’s body sank to the bottom and lay there, practically glowing thanks to his pale skin. Jason backed away and let out his breath before scrubbing at his eyes. How did Klarion work around stuff like this on the regular?   
  
“Okay, Teekl. Let’s bring our friend back.” Klarion said as he moved over to the tank and set the phylactery into place above it.   
  
Jason watched on from outside the magic circle (he did know just enough about magic to stay outside it, thank you very much) as Klarion and his familiar began their spell. He watched on as the various bumps and bruises that had marred Tim’s chest faded away. Even the old scars from a long life as a vigilante were wiped out.   
  
He could feel the air in the room growing charged, making the hairs on his arms stand up. Something was definitely happening. Then just as the magic reached its peak a gust of cold air blew through to (the) room, dousing all  of the candles and plunging the area into a darkness lit only by the glow of the tank as arcs of light raced from the ruby into Tim’s body.   
  
Jason held his breath, almost afraid to hope. Then Tim’s eyes snapped open and he instinctively tried to breath. Jason raced forward as Tim thrashed inside the tank, but Klarion was already reaching down to drag him out.   
  
Tim leaned over the side of the tank coughing and hacking as he emptied the accidental lungful of ichor.   
  
Jason noticed the smell had diminished significantly. That or it was simply drowned out by the ozone. Not that it mattered. Tim was alive!   
  
Jason quite literally dragged Tim into his arms and held him tight, babbling incoherent but loving nonsense as he ran his hands over the smaller man’s hair.   
  
“Breathe!” Tim gasped. “Need to breathe!”   
  
Jason sheepishly loosened his hold, but only enough to let Tim breathe a bit more easily.   
  
“Hooray! You’re back! I knew I could do it!” Klarion said as he clapped his hands together.   
  
Jason grinned before something in the Witch Boy’s tone set him off.   
  
“Wait a minute. You weren’t sure?!” Jason hissed.   
  
“Well there was always a chance I’d have accidentally made him a lich, but that’s really not  _ that _ much different than being a pit revenant.” Klarion said. “But that didn’t happen so it really doesn’t matter does it?”   
  
“Why you--” Jason began only to pause when Tim tugged at his hand.   
  
“Thank you, Klarion.” Tim said. “Now , what am I going to owe you?”   
  
“Hmm...I suppose I could ask for--” Klarion began only to yelp when Teekl bit him and fixed him with an angry kitty glare. “Fine, fine...you get this one gratis. But only once!”   
  
“Most generous of you.” Tim said with a smile. “And you as well, Teekl.”   
  
The familiar preened at the acknowledgement and hopped off Klarion’s shoulder to wind between Tim’s legs. Tim’s smile warmed at that and he bent down to pet her.    
  
“So..what’s the trade-off really?” Jason asked. “Magic like that always has a trade-off.”   
  
“Well...it’s not really a price per se. More like a slight amplification of something that was already there.” Klarion said.   
  
“Meaning?” Jason asked.   
  
“Once you open the door to this kind of magic it can never be closed again.” Klarion said, his voice a bit more serious. “Timmy always had a latent connection to the spirit world thanks to his ability to see certain ghosts. That’s going to be stronger now, but I’m sure you can handle it. Now...off with you. That took a lot of energy and I need to rest.”   
  
Jason opened his mouth to speak again but with a snap of his fingers Klarion teleported them away. Jason let out a small squawk as they appeared in Tim’s bedroom and crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs.   
  
“Ow...fuck...I hate that guy.” Jason groused.   
  
“He’s not so bad once you get to know him.” Tim insisted. “And could you move. You’re kind of poking me in my--”   
  
“Shit! Sorry, baby.” Jason said as he began to move only to freeze as the door to the room burst open and practically the entire family got an eyeful of a mostly naked Tim with Jason lodged between his thighs looking more than a little guilty.   
  
The cacophony of shouting and demands for explanations that followed was both expected and humiliating, but ultimately none of it mattered. Tim was alive and Jason would happily bear the brunt of all the shenanigans that followed so long as he had his baby bird at his side.


End file.
